By Chris Parker
Wheatland finished 17-10 overall last year. It was a bounce-back season after the Mules finished 8-18 in 2019.
Seniors Heavenly Lewton (pitcher) and Kaliegh Gautieri (infield-outfield) and junior Avery Adcock (third base) will be the leadership core for Wheatland this year.
“All three are going to be called on to be team leaders and good examples to the younger players,” Wheatland head coach Pat Dougherty said. “They have had success in previous years, and know what it takes to be successful. As they have gotten older, they have already started growing into the leadership role.”
Lewton enters her third season as the starting pitcher. She was named second-team all-conference last season. In the circle, Lewton went 13-9 with 87 strikeouts with a 4.21 ERA. The senior hit .417 with 33 runs scored, 33 RBI and 24 stolen bases last year.
“Lewton will be a third-year starter as our pitcher. She has developed into a good pitcher for us. She has improved her velocity over the past year. Her change-up is much improved as well, and has been working hard on a couple of other pitches to round out her arsenal,” Dougherty said.
Sophomore Chloe Pearson returns behind the plate at catcher. She hit .305 with 19 runs scored, 17 RBI and 11 stolen bases.
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“Pearson started at catcher for us as a freshman,” Dougherty said. “She did a fine job, but will be even better this time around. She is throwing the ball much better from behind the plate and will be better at blocking and controlling the game this fall.”
The infield will feature Gautieri and Adcock on the corners at first and third base. Adcock was a second-team all-conference selection last year after she hit .433 with 41 runs, 19 RBI and 26 stolen bases. Gautieri hit .328 with 25 runs scored and 15 RBI.
Wheatland will look to Jaz’Myn Baldwin (sophomore second baseman) and Taylor Gant (sophomore shortstop) up the middle. Baldwin hit .300 with 19 runs scored, 12 RBI and 12 stolen bases. Gant hit .412 with 24 runs secored, 23 RBI and 17 stolen bases. Senior Allyson Keith and sophomore Hannah Roberts are also in the mix for innings on the infield. Roberts was strong at the plate with a .302 batting average, 25 runs scored, 19 RBI and 14 stolen bases.
Baldwin, Roberts and Keith will all also see time in the outfield along with Freshmen Mackenzie Antley and Sophie Kenig. Libby LupPlace (sophomore), Gretchen Gardiner (senior) and Ava Kinney (freshman) are all also potential outfielders.
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“Offense should be our strength,” Dougherty said. “We have a number of returners that can hit and a decent amount of team speed. We should be able to manufacture some runs, one way or the other. We just need to keep working at it and improving every day, so those results show up against even the best competition.”
Wheatland will travel to Hermitage for a jamboree on Aug. 24 with Fair Play, Humansville and the host Hornets. The Mules open the regular season on Aug. 27-28 at the Humansville Tournament.
“We expect to be competitive day in and day out. Barring any injuries, we have key players returning at some key spots. We have other returning players that will move to new positions, but they are good players and will be able to handle the change well,” Dougherty said. “We intend to challenge for a conference championship and even a district championship.”
